Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2017·United States

Community gardens: Exploring race, racial diversity and social capital in urban food deserts

Jennifer Jettner

VCU Scholars Compass (Virginia Commonwealth University)

Urban Farm DB summary

A mixed-methods approach examined race, racial diversity, and social capital in community gardens located in Southern urban food deserts in the United States. Results indicated that while gardeners were racially diverse across the sample, most community gardens were racially segregated, and the majority of gardeners appeared middle-class. Community gardens showed limited potential to advance social justice and indirectly enhanced community food security, primarily through the efforts of people of color, rather than directly benefiting food-insecure gardeners.